Never Forget
by emmmaaa
Summary: This story is about Bella's life after Edward leaves, you probably won't like it but I just started it and it's my first fanfic. So read it if you will and I hope you enjoy it. I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT Stephanie Meyer does.
1. Life After Edward

**Life After Edward**

Life after Edward was a painful, long, and terrifying experience. Eventually after crying my life out I realized the way I acted was hurting everyone around me. Sometimes words would spoken would trigger a memory and I would end up breaking down right in front of someone without his cold comforting arms around to take my pain away. People stopped talking to me, all except Charlie who was hoping his optimistic wishes might rub off on me, they didn't. I stopped crying and began to focus on my future, seeing as College was looming over me. This did not mean, I had forgotten about him and all the pain he brought me, it simply meant I was hoping to keep my mind in a lighter place, a place were the only way I would get hurt was through rejection letters. This new me was immediately noticed by Mike the next day bringing all wishes he had for a relationship back to the surface.

" Hey Bella!" An overenthusiastic Mike practically shouted at me as I sat down in English. We were both extremely early so it was not a problem.

"Oh hey Mike, what's up?" I tried to act nonchalant but not dead so he would know I wasn't feeling sulky at the moment.

" We haven't talked in awhile have we? I stifled a laugh, he was trying to act cool in a

not-so-cool way.

"No, we haven't." I started to zone off but Mike was not going to let that happen.

"Bella, the gang and I are going down to first beach so I was wondering if maybe you would like to go…." I heard him mutter "with me" very quietly under his breath. I wasn't even thinking and quickly blurted out "yes" and then realized what I had gotten myself into.

"Great! It will be a lot of fun I promise and I'll pick you up at eight sharp." He looked like he was going to rocket out of his seat. I could tell he wanted to talk some more but thankfully the other kids started shuffling in.

The rest of the day droned on. I was trying to think of ways to get myself out of the Mike situation but everything I thought of made me look like a jerk or mentally challenged, so I would just have to let my head get cut off and not say anything. I, for some strange reason got excited almost like Alice would before a shopping trip but without the jumping up and down and screaming. _Alice…,my best friend……_ I thought and once again pain rushed to me. I pushed it out of my head, I had better things to do like figure out what to wear to the party. Once Jessica had heard I was going she filled me on all the details, most was about the relationships going on in school, she figured I would need an update because I had been "missing" for so long. This was a stupid assumption because I knew who was dating. I was always looking, in my mind I counted all the people who were happier than me, it was painful but counting and observing helped to distract me from things, things being Edward.

After the final bell I rushed out of class to my truck waiting patiently in it's spot. Threw open the door carefully trying not to hit the car next to me. Once in the cab I gunned the engine and drove home. I turned the radio on to my favorite station, they played alternative and I liked that, music was something I grew more attached to since Edward left, it was something special to him that I could keep even though he wasn't here anymore. The song playing was one I liked _In the End_ by Linkin Park. I sang along to the words.

_I tried so hard  
And got so far  
But in the end  
It doesn't even matter   
I had to fall  
To lose it all  
But in the end  
It doesn't even matter_

_I've put my trust in you  
Pushed as far as I can go  
And for all this   
There's only one thing you should know_

_I tried so hard  
And got so far  
But in the end  
It doesn't even matter   
I had to fall  
To lose it all  
But in the end  
It doesn't even matter_

After that I turned off the radio because I just entered a deep thought. Then it hit me, thankfully it wasn't a deer this time (that accident was 2 months ago). I realized the lyrics rang true for me. I did everything to convince Edward I loved him, and that I wanted to be with him, but in the end it was not me it was him. I was just not what he wanted, nothing I did or said could change that only him. I took a breath, a deep one, one that filled that hole in my chest. Now I knew that my 5 months of pain and sulking were useless but from it I had reached my sense of nirvana. I could never be truly happy like I had been with Edward, but I could live without his love, I could live off my memories. He was still vivid in my mind and I did not need anything else no one but Edward and I in a place where no one could touch us, heaven.


	2. Beach Party

**Beach Party**

Once at home with the sanctuary of my own room I decided to try to at least _act _excited about tonight. I put on some hyper and angry music and I was soon pretty pumped. I rushed through all my homework deciding to save my history paper for tomorrow and moved on to an outfit. I gave my closet the once over and discovered how poorly stocked it was. I made a mental note to go shopping this week end and picked out a pair of destroyed jeans, a vintage band tee Phil gave me for Christmas one year, and my favorite hoodie, comfort clothes. After my clothes were picked out came my favorite step, the shower. I was so excited to go and take my shower I slipped on the bathmat went up and then fell on my butt. I winced, there was going to a gorgeous bruise there tomorrow morning. In my mind I thought, _if only Edward could see me now_…. I laughed out loud realizing how pathetic that sounded. Once I did manage to get into the shower with killing myself in the process and the heat enveloped me I relaxed. I unknotted my tense muscles and became extremely clam. On a whim I tried to make a shampoo mohawk but my hair was too long and all it did was flop in my face.

After my shower I looked at the clock and almost screamed when it said 7:30. My reassurance about enjoying myself tonight was breaking down. I quickly dressed myself, tried to reason with my hair, failed to reason with my hair, made Charlie a sandwich, wrote a note, grabbed my disk man and waited for my golden retriever to retrieve me. He was here at eight, I knew he was going to try and mimic Edward by meeting my at the door and ushering me into his car. That was not going to happen, I got out locked the door and got into his car.

" Wow Bella you look beautiful." He stared at me like I was the lottery prize or something.

"Thanks," I mumbled. I really just wanted him to drive me there without talking but I already could tell he was going to try and make a move on me. He looked pretty pathetic, his hair was slicked back, he was wearing a pressed shirt and jeans and drenched in cologne. I wished Edward was here because at least Edward smelt _good_, well amazing but still anything but this. I opened my window, it was staring to burn my nose.

"So Bella….the spring fling is coming up." By coming up he meant in a month.

"Yeah it is." I decided to be smart and talk about him going with some other girl so he wouldn't have a chance to ask me.

" Are you going to go with Jess? She would absolutely love it if you would take her." This was true, all yesterday she had told me her spring fling plans and all of them involved her going with Mike.

"No I'm not going with Jess, because there is someone I want to go with more. Bella…. I was wondering if you would like to go with me." He was seriously trying to keep calm but he fidgeted in his seat.

" I'm not going." I said it quickly because I did not want to dwell on it too much. The last person I had danced with was Edward…. I had to stop thinking that or I might break down in this car.

"Why not?" He was frowning, I guessed he did not like being turned down two years in a row.

I decided to tell him the truth he might maybe _hopefully_ get it and stop asking.

"I … it's too hard for me Mike, it brings back things…I _really_ don't want to go."

"Oh," he said. It worked he stopped talking , instead he put his arm around me. I didn't try to squirm out of his arms. This is exactly what I needed right now, some affection. I pretended it was Edward doing this and it relaxed me, it was almost like Edward when I wasn't looking but Mike was extremely warm which made a devastating difference.

The rest of the ride was quiet we didn't move, it was peaceful and smelly but I had resorted to breathing through my mouth a long time ago. Once in the parking lot I straightened up, in fear Jessica might be watching. When we arrived everyone said hi except Lauren but that was not a surprise. There was a drift wood fire and I was freezing so I went to sit down. Immediately Tyler and Mike came to sit next to me. Tyler and I started talking and Mike intercepted as much as he could. Eventually I left to go for a walk, they both offered to come with me using the "you and I" line, but I turned them down saying I needed to clear my head. I walked along the shore, it was beautiful at night, there was a faint glow on the sea from the moon and the waves crashed against the shore making a lovely sound. I sat in the sand and day dreamed for a while then decided to head back. On my way there I ran into Lauren, she was dragging Tyler with her trying to convince him to go make out with her. "Ouch," she grumbled as we both got up. She gave me a nasty glare.

" Ooo is Cullen not here to save you this time, oh too bad." My face when pale.

" _Please_ don't talk about him," I said it like a whisper.

" Why do think if you don't talk about him maybe he'll come back? You are so pathetic, you seriously need a life. BELLA HE'S GONE, HE IS NEVER COMING BACK, GET OVER HIM, AND GET A LIFE!" With that she continued dragging Tyler and walked in the other direction. I fell to the sand and didn't get up. Laurens word's were running through my head a million miles per hour, I willed them not to be true, I _begged_ them not to be true, but they were. Edward _was_ gone, he was never coming back, and if he did come back it was not for me, he didn't love me anymore he told me that but I was just being naïve. I was a fool, a love sick fool. I knew what I had to do now, I had to become someone else, someone that wasn't Bella Swan. I needed to look for someone else to fill me up, if I wasn't Bella Swan anymore I would have her problems. I got up and headed back to the group. I wanted to go home now so I asked Mike if it would be okay to leave. He said yes and didn't ask questions. I am sure everyone had heard what Lauren had said to me. The ride home was spent focusing on not crying and denying what Lauren had said but it was a waste, I knew that. Tomorrow I would begin my transformation, I would start with wardrobe, Alice would be proud of me, I decided to actually _spend_ my money. From there I would try to change my personality, but right now I was still Bella Swan and I would spend the rest of the night remembering everything in my life.

My story sucks but I am only writing for myself and posting it here because I am bored. Thanks for tolerating me. :)


	3. The New Girl

**The New Girl**

The next morning I awoke to the most beautiful day I had seen in months. The rays of sunshine hit my window in a way that created a prism effect. I laid down on the floor with bits or rainbow all over me, it was completely blissful, in almost everyway. After toasting myself on the floor I got up because today was the day I would change. I did my human routine, shower, getting dressed and eating then wrote a note for Charlie and left. I decided to make a big trip to a mall in Olympia because Alice had pointed out to me several times that Port Angeles had no "good" shopping spots. The ride there was long and uncomfortable. I had to stop for gas _twice_. I drove slowly to conserve gas and for personal comfort, because of this I got a lot of rude hand gestures. The whole time I had one thing on my mind, Edward.

When I got to the mega mall my hatred of shopping consumed me, there were tons of crazy teenage girls around and even worse couples. I tried not to think about that and worked on my mission. The only problem was that I had no idea what to style I was going to try and imitate. In the end I decided to do something that I could not do around Edward, show a lot of skin.

The first store I went to was Bebe, there I got a lot of short skirts and low cut tanks. Then on to Urban Outfitters for some music related stuff. I was hungry so I hit the food court for some unauthentic Chinese food. It was actually not that bad but mostly because everything was fried. After I finished eating I continued around the mall and was stopped by some teenage traffic in front of a store with a hot pink neon sign that read Victoria's Secret. My lips curled up into a smile, this was definitely where I needed to go.

In the store I went crazy. All of it looked way to inappropriate for girls my age. So I stuck to the Pink section that I thought was cute. Later I realized I was trying to be _sexy_, not cute, the old Bella was cute the new one needed to be different. I ditched the Pink section and headed in Very Sexy. At first it freaked me out, _are women_ _**supposed** to dress like this, _but I did buy some lacey push up bras that made me look, um mature. After my tremendous success I when to a hair salon. Getting my hair cut had been a phobia of mine since I was 10 when the lady jabbed my skull with the scissors. So I decided to only get a trim, that trim turned out to be three inches off and barrel iron curls. But I looked amazing, and for once I thought I did.

I went to bed as soon as I got home so Charlie wouldn't see me, and was careful not to crush my hair as I hit the pillow. I couldn't sleep because I was so nervous about tomorrow, I wondered what the other kids would say I wondered what _Edward_ would say if he saw me. I hummed my lullaby until I drifted off pretending there was an iron grasp around my waist.

I woke up the next morning early, like usual. Charlie was already gone, thank the Lord, so I could dress the way I had planned. I went with a jean mini skirt with shorts underneath, push up bra and a tank sweater set. When I looked in the mirror I almost fainted. I couldn't show this much skin it was _illegal_ or something. I stuck to it though because I knew I would never change if I didn't take a risk.

Once I was at school I pulled into a spot and sat in the car arguing with myself if I should go home and change or stick it out. Then I got a look at my watch, _shoot_ I'm going to be late. I ran to my next class slowed in front of the door and as nonchalantly as I could opened the door and stepped in. The minute Mr. Neal saw me his coffee cup slipped from his hand and leaked all over him. He yelped in pain and all the girls turned toward him worried, but all the boys were looking at me with their mouths hanging open. I blushed like crazy and took a seat at the back of the room. Sadly Mr. Neal suffered some burns and class became a free period, so the boys decided to all switch seats to get closer to me, and then the questions started.

"Bella do you want to go out tonight?"

"Yeah Bella wanna go out with _me_?

"Hey Bella what about me???!"

I paid no attention to this and started doodling on my notebook. I did not realize it but I was attempting to draw Edward. I failed miserably but the boys did not seem to mind.

"Wow Bella you are so talented!"

"Yeah Bella you are!"

I almost jumped for joy when class was over and ran to my next one. Sadly Mike saw me in the hallway and made a move to trip me then catch me like they do in the movies, he even tried to sound suave.

"Bella you should watch where you glide."

"Um yeah thanks for "catching" me."

"Anytime, oh and Bella how about you and me hit a movie later tonight."

"How about **not**."

I walked away from him hips swinging smiling like an idiot, who knew being hot could be so much fun?


	4. A Date With a Vampire

**Date With a Vampire**

* * *

I felt awful. This girl was definitely not me, what I had been doing all day was cruel and uncomfortable, it wasn't right. Lunch was even worse.

I got in the line for a tray of food I was not going to touch and made my way to my usual empty table in the back of the room. When I got there I felt the kind of relief that Jasper used to give me, I was finally alone. The alone time ended abruptly when Jessica, Mike, Tyler, Angela, and Eric came to sit with me. For a long time there was an awkward silence between all of us and I stared at my tray not being able to look at them. Jessica was the first to speak, _"Bella, I just wanted to say I am very sorry about what Lauren said to you, it was extremely rude and inconsiderate and I hope that what she said does not affect our friendship with you."_ Mike and Jessica who were on either side of me both at the same time put their arm around me. I was still thinking over what happened, the words, and the hurt rushing back to me. I looked up and smiled, "_thanks guys, it's good to know I have friends when I need them_." Everyone smiled in relief.

The rest of the day went by better, especially because I had my friends. No more boys can up to me because Mike was shooting death-glares to everyone but me and insisted on walking me to my next two classes.

Jessica, Angela and I had scheduled a girl night tonight and were going to Port Angeles after school. I was actually very excited for once, I needed some time away from my thoughts, also I had some good memories with Edward there and was hoping to reawaken them.

As soon as the bell rang I went to the office to use the telephone to inform Charlie. I called the station asking for Chief Swan saying his daughter was calling, I was connected immediately.

"_Hey Bells."_

"_Hi dad, hey I was wondering if it was okay if I went to Port Angeles with Jess and Angela tonight. We would leave in five minutes and be back before eight."_

"_Wells sure Bells I think that'd be okay. You haven't been home much lately I might add._

"_I know I'm sorry, how about tomorrow I stay in and watch the game with you?"_

"_Yeah Bells I'd really like that," his voice grew a bit more enthusiastic._

"_Ok dad talk to you later"_

"_Bye Bells."_

I got out of the office grabbed my book bag and headed home. Jess was going to pick me up in ten minutes giving me time to grab a sweatshirt. I debated about changing but was really just too lazy and curious to see how normal people would react to my clothing.

Jess pulled up on time and I got in the back seat of her Mercury. The ride there Jess talked about boys, which consumed pretty much the whole ride. Angela and I just nodded, said "totally" and laughed in the right places. I was actually having fun despite the fact we might have to go shopping, but hopefully I could convince them for dinner and a movie instead. I won and we were seeing the newest action flick and were going to look around for a place to eat after.

The movie was actually pretty good. Jessica screamed a lot and Angela and I rolled our eyes. Afterward we were just rooming around aimlessly and we decided to sit on an empty park bench. None of us spoke, we were all wrapped up in our own thoughts, mine of course were about Edward. I wondered what he was doing tonight, would he ever come back? What had I done to make him not love me? My thoughts were interrupted when someone's shoe walked into the spot on the ground I was starring at.

I looked up frustrated, but immediately looked back down when I saw him. This man was tall and well _gorgeous._ His dirty blond hair was shaggy but somehow stayed out of his eyes which where and beautiful shade of topaz, almost like Edwards had been, his skin was pale but not as pale as Edward's, but he was close, he looked like Edward. I refused to look back up at him, through the corner of my eye I saw Jess and Angela do the same, Jess was probably completely tongue tied. I was getting annoyed, he had not moved and was just hovering over us. So in my sweet yet angry voice I said,

"_oh I'm sorry are we on your bench?"_

He let out a breath taking musical laugh and said, _"no I was simply admiring your beauty."_ I looked away and blushed, a handsome stranger told me I was beautiful, how could I not blush.

"_Oh,"_ I said like an idiot.

"_Actually, I was wondering if I could convince you to come to dinner with me, I promise I will return you unharmed to your friends in half an hour._

"_I think it would be rude for me to leave my friends." _I said in a rude tone.

"_Humor me please."_ I shuddered at the words he was **too much** like Edward.

Jess piped up, _"she would love to go to dinner with you as long as you keep your promise on the unharmed part." _This flabbergasted me. Before I could argue back he cut me off.

"_Good, now when you need her she will be eating with myself at the Italian restaurant on the board walk, fetch her when you will."_

He held out his hand to me and I took it, my body was acting on its own telling me to trust him, but my mind did not. He took me to _La Bella Italia_, and I started to breathe shallow breaths, my night was replaying, a different guy, different circumstances, but the same situation. I was still holding his hand which was remarkable cold. I would have guessed he was a vampire but he looked so different from the ones I had seen so far. He lead me to a table in the back corner of the room, sat me down and then went to seat himself across from me. He immediately started talking.

"_I would guess this is a bit strange for you, am I correct."_ I nodded.

"_Well let me introduce myself, my name is Alexander and I will be your date tonight."_ He smiled a brilliant smile flashing some beautiful flawless white teeth at me and I knew I had a date with a vampire.


	5. Alexander

**Alexander**

* * *

"Wha.. what do you want with me?", I stammered. He let out another musical laugh.

"Bella I promise I have no intention of doing anything that might hurt you…well physically that is."

"What do you do, evoke my worst memories?"

"No, nothing of the sort but over our time together you will begin to trust me and we will talk of things that hurt you, but for now let's stick to introductions." He flashed me a breath taking smile and I stared numbly.

"….our time together?" My eyes brows shot up.

"Yes, well Bella now that I've got you I have no intention of letting you go. I promise you and I will be extremely good friends so we will definitely spend more time together." He smiled again and the waitress came over to take our orders, well _my_ order.

"Hello my name is Jennifer , I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you?" She was only looking at Alexander and I was sure if she smiled anymore it would reach her ears.

"Bella darling what will you have? I shot him a look and he mouthed "I'll explain later" to me.

I glanced at the menu and ordered a Cesar salad and a coke. She did not even look at me, but asked Alexander for his order.

"Nothing for me thank you." Of course.

"Sorry Bella, she was getting on my nerves so I played a romantic preference, she did not get the message I might add.

"Yeah I got it, so not hungry?" I smiled but the smile was wiped off my face when I realized how similar this night was to the one with Edward.

"No I'm not hungry, but I am sure you know why." His eyes played tricks on me.

"That is a great assumption, seeing as I just met you." He let out a chuckle.

"Well rumor has it that you have met vampires before." I stared down at my silver wear.

"I don't like those rumors," I said in a whisper. Now my thoughts were completely on the Cullens, _they were almost my family so how could they leave_?

"Bella, I am sorry for bringing that up." He looked very apologetic, almost like he could **feel** my pain…I figured out his ability then.

"You can feel my pain." It should have been a question but it was definitely a statement.

"You are to smart for your own good, now please think of something happier or I will be forced to make you happy." In his mind I bet he was thinking of ways to torture me.

"Oh by the way your food will be here in 3…2…1…" On cue the waitress came and set my food in front of me. _Know it all_.

"Sir, are you sure I can't you anything?"

"I ate before I came." _Sure you did, in the forest._

"Oh well ask me if you need anything." Once again she was grinning until her cheeks would burst. I was now getting annoyed. Thankfully she left us. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his shaggy blond hair. Instantly bringing me back to his good looks.

"She is ruining our dinner." He said with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Well seeing as you are going to stalk me there will be plenty more time for "our" dinners." I smiled and he snickered.

"Bella please eat I have to return you undamaged to your friends in fifteen minutes."

"You make me sound like a toy."

"In a sense humans are toys for vampires, like life size dolls."

"Even better, _edible_ life size dolls." He laughed.

"Have no fear Bella, I promise I won't eat you." His face got serious all of a sudden."

"I will hold you to that." I pointed out matching his expression.

"You won't have too because it is not going to happen, now please eat." I ate for a bit, not liking my salad.

"So Alexander please tell me about yourself, seeing as I bet you already know plenty about me." He smiled and nodded.

"I will summarize it for you then. My name is Alexander James Parker. I was born on August sixteenth, 1831 in Bath, England. I was changed when I was twenty years of age by a woman I had intentions of marrying. We lived together for a long time but she was killed by another vampire and since then I have traveled the world running from my memories." He looked so sad now, I could hardly restrain myself from grabbing his hand.

"I am so sorry Alexander."

"Do not dwell on it, and please call me Alex."

"Will do."

"Bella it's time to go." I crossed my fork and knife on my plate and he called the waitress over and paid. I said I could cover the tip but he insisted it was his job as an English gentleman to pay. It was not until now I noticed his hidden accent and I laughed at how oblivious I was. He came over to me offered his arm for my escort and I took it. Thankfully, my love for Jane Austen taught me how to do this the proper way. We walked back to the bench and waited for Jessica and Angela to come pick me up.

"Alex…" I questioned.

"Yes Bella?"

"Why did you take me to dinner?" He let out a long sigh.

"Bella I have been in search of a friend for a very very long time. When I heard that you were rather close to a coven of vampires I became hopeful that you would not judge me as well and that I could have a friend who was not repulsed be my eating habits. I needed a human friend because since my change in diet no vampire will get too friendly with me. All I want is a friend Bella so I am hoping maybe you can help me." He was staring off into the distance, I could feel his pain radiating off him.

Alex, I need a friend just as much as you do. Ever since the Cullens left I have absolutely no one. Jessica and Angela are nice people but they cannot replace the Cullens. There is no question that I want to be friends with you, as you might already know I love vampires…well the vegetarian ones." I turned and smiled at him and he laughed.

"You love "vegetarian vampires", hah you don't hear _that_ everyday!" He erupted in spasms of laughter and I could not help but join in. By the time we were done laughing I was crying and my face felt hot.

"Bella I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." After smiling like idiots Angela and Jessica came over.

"Good night Bella, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, because I'm Forks High School's newest student." He beamed at me.

"Okay then see you tomorrow and I will save you a seat at lunch." I beamed back. With that Jessica, Angela and I went to the parking lot piled in Jessica's mercury and began to drive home. I knew they would ambush me with questions in a minute so I relished the silence and thought about how great it was to finally have a friend. Tomorrow was only the beginning, I knew it.

* * *

A/N: I am going to NYC for the next couple days and will sadly not be able to update for awhile. I love you all and will be back shortly. I hope you enjoyed it.

emmmaaa


	6. The New Kid

The New Kid

* * *

The questions were thrown at me so fast I could not believe it. It had only taken Jessica four minutes in the car to explode. Angela did not say anything because she knew how I felt about being asked questions.

"Who _is _he?! What happened? Did he hurt you? Why is he coming to our school? Bella answer me!" I took a deep breath.

"His name is Alex and he has just moved to Forks and seeing as Forks only has one High School he will be going there. All we did was go out to dinner like he said, and no he did not hurt me." I thought I had covered all the questions but if hadn't Jessica would add more.

"So are you two…..together?" She seemed very nervous and started fidgeting in her seat.

"No Jess, we are not dating but we are friends if that means anything." _ We were just friends, and it was going to stay that way. No matter how much I like him, he is not Edward._

"Oh, ok then. Hey, maybe you can introduce us tomorrow, I mean all our friends." She said all of them but she only meant her self, I got the message, a hot new guy was at school and she wanted to be the one who claimed him. Then for once on this ride Angela piped up.

"Bella is he from England, I noticed an accent but I was not sure." I was surprised Angela noticed this when it took me so long to.

"Yeah he is." Then Jessica burst out.

"English hottie alert!" Then we all started laughing. They were laughing about the hottie joke, I was laughing because Jessica wanted to date him. _Like she could date a vampire_. Then I realized how hypocritical that was because _I_ had dated a vampire.

When I got home I ran inside because of my lack of clothes and hurried up the stairs so I could change before Charlie saw me. I was lucky, he was in his room so I got in mine and changed into my pajamas before heading down stairs. Charlie was on the couch again watching TV.

"Hey Bells how was Port Angeles?" He asked like a concerned father.

'It was fun, we went shopping, saw a good movie and had dinner. Are you hungry? Can I make you a sandwich?"

"Extremely hungry and if you don't mind I would love a sandwich right now. Oh and Bells I like your hair cut."

"Thanks dad."

After I made Charlie his sandwich I went upstairs and tackled off my homework. Once I had finished all my homework and tomorrow's homework as well I decided to email Renee because I knew if I did not send one within three days she would call Charlie. After going through the excruciating process of turning the computer on, connecting, and getting rid of all the pop ups I began typing my letter.

Dear Mom,

Today Jessica, Angela and I went out for some girl time and I made a new friend. What is going on with you? I hope all is well with you and Phil.

love bella.

After writing the email I had nothing to do so I took a long and hot shower. The warmth felt amazing against my skin. As I was rubbing my strawberry shampoo onto my scalp my thoughts returned to Alex. _Who told him about my relationship with the Cullens? Was he trying to trick me? _When the shower ended I tried to hold it's warmth with the towel but it did not last and I ran to my room to change. With my pajamas back on I hopped into to bed and drifted to sleep to my lullaby running through my head.

* * *

The next morning I awoke fairly early to dark sky with no sign of the sun. _Well at least Alex will have no excuse not to come to school._ I realized I should go early and help him around school and ask him what his story would be like a good friend would so I hurried. I got dressed, grabbed a granola bar and left. On the ride there I listened to my radio station and it made me happy…and sad. I drove for a few minutes until I was at school, I pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine. Other than mine there were only a few cars in the lot. My eyes flew to a bright red convertible. I thought it was Rosalie's a first but it was much nicer looking and I knew it was _his _car. I had failed to notice that their was someone in the car and that they were getting out. I got out slowly and made my way over to him with a big smile on my face.

Alex looked amazing. He was wearing a black v neck sweater that contrasted amazingly well with is skin and dark blue jeans. He was also smiling and his eyes were the lightest shade of topaz I had ever seen.

"Hello Bella." He barely said the H.

"Good morning Alex. I came early to see if you needed any help around school and to ask you what your story was."

"Thanks for coming to help me." He flashed me a wide grin.

"Can I use the _I just moved here trick_?" I laughed.

"Sure you can as long as you moved here from England."

"Why, can I not be original and be from China or some place like that? He laughed.

"Sorry Alex but Angela picked up on your accent last night."

"Darn." At first he tried to act mad but his smile broke through.

"Hey can I see your class list?"

"Of course." He handed it over to me and I scanned it.

"Wow you have every single class with _me_!" Now I was nervous, _he would see me in gym! _

"Who would have thought?" He smiled a very wide smile and I knew this was all his doing.

"Yes in deed who would have the crazy idea that we would _want_ to be together in every class?" Now my smile matched his. He scowled.

"I thought you _liked_ me."

"That's absurd I could never like you, you are so…unlikable." We both started laughing. After we stopped laughing I heard a car door slam and turned to pin point the noise. There I saw Jessica walking toward us a grin on her face.

"She thinks I'm good looking," he whispered to me.

"Really I had _no_ idea." I whispered back.

"I can feel it, she is like a fire cracker."

"I was being sarcastic."

"Of course you were." Now Jessica was here and turned her self towards Alex. When she thought he was not looking she poked me hard in the side, I looked up and knew he was trying to stifle a laugh.

"Alex I want to introduce you to my friend Jessica, Jessica this is Alex." They shook hands and in his uncloaked English accent as he said,

"Tis a pleasure to meet you." I almost laughed he sounded so…British.

"It is _very _nice to meet you too." I picked up on how she was trying to sound appealing but mostly she failed miserably and sounded like her nose was stuffed. We stood there for a while in an awkward silence.

"Well I need to go, it was nice to meet you."

"Bye Jess." Then she left her hips swinging from side to side. I started to count.

"5,4,3,2,1," and the second she was out of ear shot we both burst out laughing. eventually I took a break from laughing.

"Can you spell desperate?!" We started laughing again.

"I believe I can, lets see D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E."

"Ladies and gentlemen the winner of this year's spelling bee is… Alexander Parker." I could not stop shaking I was laughing so hard. I started walking backward without realizing it and my foot got stuck on the curb and I flew into the air. I was waiting to hit the concrete sidewalk but it never happened instead I felt two iron arms wrap them selves around me. I looked up into Alex's topaz eyes, the worry written across his face. Everything in that moment reminded me of Edward, _everything._ I was going to cry right then and there until I saw Alex his face had switched from worry to pain, I had forgotten about his ability. I got out of his arms and stood up.

"I'm sorry Alex, I forgot that you could feel my pain."

"No, do not apologize but may enquire what I did to hurt you?" He looked so sad, looking at him made me sad and he winced.

"Alex it has nothing to do with you I was just reminded of someone…" I backed away from him because I knew what came next, emotion breakdown.

"Um Alex I'll see you in class." I grabbed my book bag and headed toward building 4. I had not even gone 20 feet when an ice cold hand gripped my arm. Tears were welling up in my eyes but he made me face him, I looked away because his eyes did nothing but bring back painful memories. It started like a movie in my head, _Edward and I were walking behind my house and he was being very quiet. Then he broke up with me and I followed him after he ran away. I followed but never found what I wanted the most._ A cold finger on my check brought me back to reality. I was crying and Alex was wiping my tears away begging me to look at him, I did. He was trying not to show emotion on his face but I knew he was in major pain, he could not hide it.

"Bella…please don't run from me. I can handle it, I promise and all I want to do is comfort you. Please Bella…" His eyes were pleading with me to understand. I dropped my bag and ran into his arms. I cried against his chest and he held me tight. All I could think was _why isn't Edward the one doing this? How could he leave me so broken? Why can't I just accept this life without him?_

He held me for a long time until the bell rang and I switched to just his hand. Once my bag was on my shoulder I lead him to class. Outside the door I let go of his hand and gave him a small smile and walked into class. When Alex walked in every female head in the class room turned our way. I rolled my eyes at him and we took our seats at the back of the room. The whole class period I heard the same things.

"My goodness he's hot."

"Back off ladies he's _mine_"

"Why does that Bella girl get all the good looking guys, man I hate her."

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A/N: LONG CHAPTER!! I got pumped so I wrote a lot . I hope you guys are beginning to understand Alex a bit and how Bella and Alex's relationship will work. Love you all.

emmmaaa


	7. The Visitor

**The Visitor**

* * *

The rest of the day with Alex was ridiculous. I counted the number of times he got asked out and I ran out of fingers. Sadness overwhelmed me because of this, I felt bad knowing that even if he did say yes to one of the hopeful girls he could not truly be with her unless he made the decision Edward would not. It was hidden though because I didn't want to hurt him, I realized he was much more sensitive then Jasper was._ Would he have loved her enough to change her and not leave her to look for someone of his own kind_? After thinking this I figured that it was not Alex I was thinking about there.

Finally the bell rang and we left for lunch. There were a few problems here. First being because Alex was new here everyone would be watching him eat and possibly notice that he was not _actually_ stuffing things in his mouth. Second was that Jessica would ambush me and insist on sitting with us which neither of us wanted. I briskly walked into the lunch line, Alex only a step behind me, and somehow made it half way through before Jessica caught up to me.

"Hey Bella," Jess said as she walked over to me. I grimaced and turned to face her.

"Oh hey Jess." I tried to sound happy to see her but sounded more bored than happy.

"I was just wondering if you and _Alex_ wanted to come sit with us." What she meant was she wanted Alex to sit with her and her _alone_. I wanted to get out of this.

"Why don't you ask Alex? I think since it's his first day he should choose." I moved forward in the lunch line with a smirk on my face.

"Oh I want nothing more to eat **with** Bella, by all means I'll just follow her." The way he added the _with _made me imagine the sentence without it, and a smile crept onto my face. After my little moment I noticed that a) he had thwarted my plan and b) I would have to say yes to Jessica.

"Well then, Jess we would love to sit with you." I finally reached the front of the line and was about to pay a deathly pale hand did it for me. I was mad now. So I just walked off to the table and sat at the far end. I knew Jess would slide in-between me Alex so I had gotten my revenge. I heard what sounded like a growl of frustration behind me but ignored it.

As predicted Jessica slid in next to me and seeing as I was on the end there was no room next to me right? Wrong. Before Jess had sat down I was magically pushed to my left, my tray with me, and left somewhere close to the middle of the bench. Jess sat down and only then noticed that the gorgeous blonde boy she had planned to sit next to was now making his way over to my other side.

When Alex sat down with a huge smirk tainting his beautiful features I let out my own growl of frustration to low for anyone but me to hear, or so I thought. Alex turned to stare at me his eyes wide with disbelief. My many months of practice in front of the mirror must have paid off because he honestly thought I had done "the growl." He gave me the once over lingering on my eyes and my chest (hopefully just because my heart was somewhere beneath it) and remembered my humanness. I smiled and he growled again which only made me smile more. No one else noticed this exchange but I could still hear Jess huffing next to me.

Lunch continued like that, Jessica sending me death glares, and Alex and I laughing about everything. We developed a system for the food issue. He takes some food puts it up to his mouth and exaggerates chewing but actually brings his fork down and vampire speed and dumps the food on to my plate before anyone could see. For weeks he called me his garbage disposal.

After lunch we headed off to gym and the whole time I was hyperventilating silently next to Alex. He picked up on it.

"Bella, what's wrong?" He sounded very concerned.

"Nothing," I squeaked.

"Bella…we talked about this remember?"

"Yeah but this irrelevant, I promise."

"Nothing you feel is irrelevant in my case because I can feel it remember? Now tell me what's going on, your nervousness is getting to me." He scolded lightly.

"Well it's just I don'twantyou toseemeingym." It came out as a blur.

"Oh come off it, you will do fine." He scoffed at my warning which made me laugh internally, _you have no idea how wrong you are_.

"Here watch me run to the door." I took off running. Halfway there I managed to trip over air but adjusted myself and kept on going. I opened the door and was about to go in when I smelled it, blood. _Oh boy I get to faint now,_ I thought and then passed out. Before I did I managed to mumble, "blood…don't breathe…" and that was as far as I got.

* * *

I awoke to find myself in the infirmary. I was on one of those bed with the crinkly paper and whenever I moved it made the most annoying sound. The nurse was in the corner reading one of her romance novels again and looked completely absorbed into it. So I took it as a chance to escape. I slid off the bed and tried to stand up but fell down and my ears were ringing. I did manage to get out without the nurse on my tail and when I got into the office I was greeted by Alex. He pulled me into his arms and I was shocked with the coldness. I pretended he was Edward and instantly relaxed.

"Bella how are you feeling," he asked timidly.

"I think you can tell." He let out a chuckle. He just rocked me back and forth for a while, but it didn't bother me I needed a good hug. After a couple minutes I shifted my way out of his arms and looked at his face. He looked hurt but that changed after I gave him a wide smile. His topaz eyes were burning into my face as if searching for the source of my happiness, but he couldn't know.

"We should probably go home now," I said my eyes glued to the clock on the wall.

"I guess." He mumbled mostly to himself. We walked out of the school and to the parking lot. Our cars were two out of seven left. He gave me a hug and promised he would see me soon and he got in his car and drove away. I watched his car as it zoomed out of sight and I was sure I saw his face looking back at me in the mirror. Alex was definitely what I needed, a friend who could take care of me in all my emotional states.

I walked over to my trusty red truck and got in. I sat there for a couple of moments. The truck smelt just as it had the day I got it, only now some sweet aroma seemed embedded in the seats. I wish I knew what it was. Once I had snapped out of my trance I started the car and drove home.

The cruiser was already there and I hoped that Charlie had not gotten wind of my fainting spell. Once inside I could smell a pizza, I guessed Charlie was giving me a day off from cooking.

"Hey Bells," he greeted form the couch. "Good timing, the game's about to start." I went into the kitchen grabbed a slice and joined him on the couch.

We watched the game, Charlie was happy because his team won and I was beat so I made it upstairs and into the shower. I _really_ needed that shower. The smell of strawberries was so inviting it made me incredibly sleepy. I spent the shower thinking about Edward (in the non-painful way). My mind flashed back to our dinner in Port Angeles and our day in the meadow, and for once I was completely blissful.

When I was done with my shower I headed into my room and changed into my sweats. I had finished all my homework the night before so I could go straight to bed. I had been lying in bed for only five minutes when my mind started talking to me._ Bella…_ Only the voice was not my own…it was Edward's. I jumped upon hearing it and my eyes searched around greedily but found nothing. My body sank back against the pillows. _Great now I've gone mad just because of an ex boyfriend._ But he was not just a boy friend… he was my life.

_Bella you are not insane. _The voice purred at me. _That's offensive that you could think that about yourself. _He scolded.

_Edward is that you?_ I asked myself.

_Yes Bella I'm here._ His voice was so soothing and it sounded like he was next to me, so I let myself believe he was.

_Edward please don't leave me. _My voice cried desperately.

_I'm never gone Bella. You may not always hear me but I'm here. Just remember I'll be watching you Bella. Sleep now…_His voice began to fade and I screamed internally.

_Edward don't leave me, I love you!_

_And I you… now sleep._

_Edward!_ No answer.

_Edward! _Only more silence. He was gone and I began to whimper not in my head though. I had lasped into a dazed state for as very long time until I was interupted by a knock. I assumed it was Charlie but it did not sound like it came from the door but rather… the window. My eyes looked up to see a shadowy figuer just beyong the glass. I stiffled a scream. It turned out I had a visitor, an unexpected one.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long. My computor died so I am using another. I love you all and promise I have an interesting plot planned out. 

peace out

emmmaaa


	8. Sleep Over

**Answers:**

-Bella does NOT like Alex. He is meerly a support group/bestfriend...and smokin' hot.

- Alex can feel emotions but can not manipulate them like Jasper does.

-If you are wondering if Edward will ever come back...he will but not yet.

- _Whats reality_ and _FallenAngel5439 _are my best friends because they review...alot:)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters or settings created by Stephanie Meyer. I do not own Victoria's Secret(sadly) or Justin Timberlake. However I do own the sexy sensation that is Alexander Parker. :)

PLAYLIST: Start the Machine - Angels and Airwaves

Sorrow - Box Car Racer

Man Eater - Nelly Furtado (hahahahahaha)

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Sorry it took so long. 3 emmmaaa**  
**

**Sleep Over**

* * *

Eventually my body was calm enough to figure out who was at my window. In fear I crept over and I peeked through the window only to see Alex grinning like and idiot. _A peeping Tom, oh joy! _I stepped up to the window to let him in and he practically leaped through the window. I gave him a huge frown in return. 

"Alex, you can't just come barging in here whenever you feel like it. Just because you don't have to sleep does not mean _I _don't!

"It's nice to see you too Bella. Lovin' the jammies." I blushed and looked down to see pink monkeys with bananas sprawled across my legs. _Thanks Jess, great present. _

"Any way Bella….," Alex continued. "I was bored and thought we could do something fun!" He seemed genuinely excited at the prospect.

"At one in the morning?!," I countered.

"Well yeah…," He looked down and twiddled his thumbs nervously. I found it to be incredibly cute. _No it's not,_ and angry yet beautiful voice shouted in my head. My head turned towards Alex again. I felt bad for him, it wasn't his fault he was not used to a human schedule.

"Well what do you want to do then?" Alex looked up at me with a grin on his face.

"Lets watch the tube!" I let out a giggle and crept out and down to the television. I turned it on and immediately pressed the volume down button as fast as I could. When I found it to be quiet enough I looked around for Alex. A second later he appeared with a glass of milk and a plate of Oreos, I smiled gratefully, Oreos are my comfort food. As he took the remote and surfed the channels we landed on the one show I definitely did not want to see, a rerun of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

To my dismay Alex kept it there and it started about halfway through. Even worse Justin Timberlake walked out on the runway. If Jessica were here she might have screamed but I groaned. Alex just laughed at me and I scowled.

One particular song came on and Alex got up and started mimicking Justin's moves. It was a perfect match only Alex did them better….and looked better. I stopped watching the television altogether and just watched Alex, who was pretty good. _Ha!_ The voice in my head snorted. I decided to eat my Oreos.

After a couple minutes Alex spoke up.

"Hey Bella?," he whispered still dancing. "Do you want to do her part?", he asked hopefully. I followed the pointed finger and saw the girl on television rubbing herself all over Justin. Somewhere in my head there was a growl. Advising me not to take him up on his offer.

"Um…no thanks, I'm good. I'll just um watch you." He laughed and I zoned out, lost in my own thoughts.

I was taken out of my zombie like state by Alex who decided to sit next to me once the models came out. His eyes were glued to the screen ,taking in every detail of their bodies. Although I was sure he looked at me _occasionally_. I had the serious urge to giggle, in order to cover up how uncomfortable I was feeling, but I knew I could not fool Alex. In silence we watched the models strut down the runway. A part of me, a VERY SMALL part of me, wondered why they didn't sell this stuff at the store. In response booming laughter moved around in my head, and I seriously wanted to snap at "Edward" or whom ever it was. After a while my eyes lids began to droop and, my head fell on Alex's shoulder. I could not remember the rest.

* * *

I could feel something touching my shoulder. It was very annoying. Someone was _poking _me. VERY annoying. Ouch. STOP TOUCHING ME! 

"Wake up sleepy head….," someone whispered.

"Mehhh…mhm." I rolled over to get out of poking reach.

"Bella get up now or I'll carry you everywhere in those…pajamas!" I heard a growl but I was not sure where it came from. My body scooted over more.

"Bella!, up now!"

"No! I refuse to. It is Saturday morning and I am not moving." I curled up into a little ball.

"Fine then."

"You're giving up?"

"_You_ are not going to have to move."

"Really?"

"No, but you will be _moved_." With that I felt myself being lifted off the ground and on to what felt like metal bars. I was being swiftly moved through the air.

"Stop it! Put me down!" I struggled to get out of the metal cage. My eyes kept firmly shut, afraid of what they might see. I felt one of the metal bars moving from under me and I began to panic but it was replaced as swiftly as it was taken away. I was placed into some cold basin like thing and then released by the bars.

"Get up." I struggled around in this basin thingy to get comfortable.

"Alright you asked for it! With that I felt tons of freezing cold water come over my body. My eyes flew open in shock and settled on a very tall figure with blond hair leaning over me. Alex. Now I was mad. _Just wait till I get my hands on that boy,_ Edward said with a growl.

"Alex!" I let out a huge scream. I was soaked and it was freezing and as a result I was definitely not happy with him.

"Are you ready to get up now?," Alex asked innocently.

"Are you ready to get down?"

"What do you m…," he did not get a chance to finish asking because I had yanked him with all my power into the shower with me. It was more of a bath though because the drain was still plugged.

"Ouch," I grunted when he landed on me. He smiled and quickly picked me up and placed me on top of him to be a shield from the water. I let out a groan in frustration and struggled to get off him, but I couldn't. The metal bars wrapped themselves around me again. For two minutes I tried unsuccessfully to get out of Alex's arms. So I stopped trying for a minute. When I felt him relax a bit I fought harder than ever to get off him, but failed. Eventually I gave up and laid back down on Alex's chest. My arms were covered in goose bumps, my teeth were beginning to chatter, and my body was shivering. Alex took notice of this and used his foot to change the dial to hot instead of cold. I was definitely awake now. We sat like that for a while, me lying on top of Alex with his arms around my waist.

I changed positions after a while so that I was lying on my stomach and had my ear pressed against Alex's chest, where his heart was. I listened for minutes expecting to hear something, wishing to hear _something_. The only noises were that of our breathing and of the water hitting our bodies. I felt sadness wash over me. We both suffered from heartbreak, his more severe than mine, and yet I would only have to live with mine for a while and he would have his…_forever._ Alex began gasping and I realized that was entirely _my_ fault. _Happy thoughts Bella, happy thoughts, _I told myself. When the breathing went back to normal I stopped worrying and relaxed.

I noticed something pressing against my stomach. It had been there all along but just now I noticed it. It came from _his _stomached. Then it hit me….ABS! My thoughts flashed back to Edward's hard marble chest, cold and hard and ….perfect. I needed a distraction, badly! So on a whim I sat up propped on my elbows and reached out for my shampoo bottle. I grabbed the bottle, popped the lid, and dangled it above Alex's head. Without warning I squeezed and massive amount of strawberry shampoo covered Alex's shaggy blonde hair.

"Bella what are you doing!" He sounded frantic.

"Giving you a mohawk."

"No way." I used my hands to sculpt his hair up right along the center of his head and smiled at myself when it was done. I placed the bottle back on the ledge and resumed listening to Alex's imaginary heart beat. I was not prepared when he took the bottle and squirted my hair and back with shampoo.

"You DID NOT just do that."

"I did," he affirmed with a grin."

"You EVIL person." I used my hands to splash him with water over and over and over again. He splashed back with much, much more force. Eventually my arms grew tired and I stopped splashing him and he stopped too. We both got a good look at each other. His mohawk had flopped over to one side and his bright green shirt clung to his chest so that I could its defined contours. He was staring at me with a slight grin on his face and mischief in his eyes. I followed his gaze to _my _chest and noticed that my shirt had also decided to stick to my chest. Worse was that my shirt was _white_ and now was completely see-through and my new bra, which was covered in pink dogs, was clearly visible along with what cleavage I did have. I crossed my arms over my chest and stood up staring down on him.

We glared at each other for a few second then I turned the shower on at full blast and washed off the shampoo. When I was done I grabbed a towel and raced to my room, leaving Alex in the tub.

I was almost completely dressed when I heard a knock on the door, which I chose to ignore.

"Bella, what are you doing in there?"

"Nothing important, just setting myself on fire."

"That is NOT funny."

"It wasn't supposed to be." Alex growled.

"Bella let me in, NOW!"

"Can't sorry."

"Bella I'll break the door down!," he threatened.

"No you won't." Then the pounding stopped. I waited, shirt in hand waiting to be put on, but the pounding was gone completely. After a while I turned around to look out the window. It was cloudy and gray I saw a bird fly out of a tree perch itself out side my window next to Alex and a tree….oh no. I stared back to Alex whose face was enraged until it changed and he had a goofy smile on his face. I looked down again and noticed I had failed to cover myself . I quickly turned around to put on my shirt and marched over to the window. I opened it enough to slip my hand through and slapped him across the face. Then I retracted my hand and shut the window. Alex stared back at me with a hurt expression, but I was still very. very mad. _Serves him right for doing that, in fact I think you should stay away from him completely,_ Edward said with anger in his voice.

"Bella I'm sorry!" Alex shouted to me through the window.

"I won't do it again…I think….anyway let me in!"

"Please?"

"Go home Alex, party's over," I shouted back.

"But we were having so much fun and I still want to see you!"

"Don't you think you have seen enough of me already?"

"Well…not really…but still, please Bella!" Alex was a bit frantic now.

"Please, I'll try to be good." Eventually the accent got to me and I let him in.

"Thank you," Alex said gratefully.

I frowned.

"Rule number one, you do not look at Bella's shirt when it is wet or not on her. Two, you do not spray cold water over Bella. Three, when Bella is mad at you, beg for forgiveness. Four, when Bella wants to sleep, you let her sleep."

"Understand me?"

"Yes ma'am," Alex said saluting me. Then we both laughed at how absurd this morning had been. It felt so good to have a best friend I gave him a full pardon on the peeping tom thing well…for now.


	9. Gutter Ball

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A/N:

OMG

OMG

I am SO sorry I never write anymore. Life just got extremely complicated. But I missed it, so I have returned, for now. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**In the Gutter**

Since Charlie had gone fishing I decided to spend the day with my new best friend. We brainstormed over breakfast.

"So what do you want to do today?," I asked chewing my cereal. Alex looked up, his eyes piercing mine for a second.

"That is entirely up to you," he said thoughtfully, "I had my fun this morning." He flashed me a sheepish grin and somewhere in my head was a sound of disgust. I let out a groan, and his smile broadened. I carefully swept a strand of hair behind my ear because it had come desperately close to swimming in my cereal.

"Well…" I began slowly, "we could go bowling…." I watched his eyes for a reaction.

"Bowling?" He snorted. "_YOU,_ who has no coordination what so ever, can BOWL???"

"You have that little faith in me?" I faked a gasp of pain.

"Well can you blame me?" He retorted. I blushed.

"Well not exactly…I mean I guess I understand where you're coming from."

"I bet you do," he said with a laugh. My lips pulled back into a wicked grin and I cocked and eyebrow.

"Are you ready to have your butt served to you in a bowling alley?" He motioned to me with two fingers.

"Bring it!"

I finished up my cereal and we got in the truck. I of course refused to let him drive when he offered to me, but he never complained. He seemed almost relaxed.

"You're not offended by leisurely driving?" I teased. He turned to face me.

"No, I don't mind spending more time with you, it's more than we would have had if I was driving." He spoke to earnestly that I had to look away. For some reason I felt a little uncomfortable. But it calmed me to know that in this way he was different from Edward in that aspect. Edward intervened with my thought process. _Don't you think you should get rid of him? BEFORE he gets attached to you? _I spoke back,_he's all I have left…_That answer didn't satisfy him.

We arrived shortly after twelve and it was difficult to find a parking spot. It appeared that _Ally's Alley_ got a lot of business on Saturdays, but never the less I found a space. Once the car was off and the key out of the ignition, Alex was already opening the door for me, I mumbled a thanks. We walked into the bowling alley and were greeted by the stares of the teenage crowd. I looked and saw Mike and Tyler five lanes down or so and pulled Alex down towards the booth.

"Everyone's jealous of us," Alex whispered as we walked. I was in a daze and asked, "why?"

"The boys are jealous of me, and the girls are jealous that you have the hot new exchange student," he said rather pleased with himself. I looked around now and recognized that most of the kids here went to my school, it freaked me out a little bit. Just then we had reached the booth.

"Hi we'd like to pay for two games please," I said to an unfriendly looking woman, who was obviously sick of teenagers.

"That will be twenty dollars please," she said in monotone. Alex passed her a twenty and I hit him on the arm, not that he noticed it.

"Shoes sizes?" She asked.

"Eight please."

"Twelve thank you." The lady snorted.

"Sure, you and every other guy that's in here." She left to retrieve our shoes. I looked down and suddenly noticed that Alex did have HUGE feet. Probably the only legitimate twelve here. I guessed it went with being 6'4 or whatever he was. He caught me looking and smirked, I gave him a scowl.

Our shoes were tossed to use from across the counter.

"Your lane is number nine, have a good time," she said not really meaning it. I looked to find our lane and groaned when I realized it was next to Tyler and Mike's. Mike was doing some form of victory dance and Tyler was waving a finger.

"Is there another lane we could use ma'am?" I asked timidly.

"Sorry, no." Alex and I walked to the lane. We were entering our names in the system when Mike and Tyler first noticed us.

"Hey Bella!" Mike said with enthusiasm. I gave him a smile. Then Mike noticed the looming figure behind me.

"Oh, hey Alex."

"Well hello there Mike…" I could feel that Alex was about to gloat so I cut him off.

"Wow, what a coincidence that we're all here!" I observed.

"I didn't know you bowled Bella," Tyler said, joining the conversation.

"I don't, well not often."

"Hey, why don't we all bowl together! We just finished a game anyways." Mike suggested eagerly. Tyler seemed to like the idea as well.

"Yeah Bella I think that would be an awful lot of good fun!" Alex cheered, I detected the sarcasm but evidently Tyler and Mike didn't because they started to enter their names in our system.

Alex was up first. He grabbed a black ball and walked to the line. He aligned himself perfectly with the arrows and released the ball with a forward motion, sliding his right leg behind him as he let go. Mike and Tyler watched with open mouths as the ball skidded across the alley and into the pins. It was a strike. Alex turned and walked back to sit next to me a grin plastered on his godly features.

"Did I do okay?!" He asked in a bogus unsure voice. I rolled my eyes at him, then stood up because it was my turn.

"GOOO BELLAAAAA," Mike and Tyler cheered from their seats, I turned my head to give them a quick smile.

I of course grabbed the pink ball, the lightest ball, and walked up to the front of the lane. Then I positioned myself in front of the gutter. I heard mumbled confusion behind me. Then I flicked my hand, releasing the ball so it landed in the middle of the lane and watched as it rolled to the pins, knocking all but one down. The boys gasped. I walked back to pick up another pink ball and repositioned myself in front of the gutter, repeated the flicking motion and the ball rolled until the last pin fell over. Then all the pins were swept away and replaced with a new set. I walked back to sit next to Alex.

"Did I do okay?" I asked him. He let out a heavy sigh.

"I guess you did OKAY, but not great or anything, like me." I ignored him.

The rest of the game played off similarly, Alex got consistent strikes until I would say things that threw him off, then he would get spares. I continued to get spares except for the few times I concentrated enough to get a strike. We blew Tyler and Mike out of the water naturally. They invited us to go to lunch at the diner with them and offered to pay seeing as the bowled so badly. Alex quickly agreed without consulting me and I growled at him from under my breath. I figured since neither Mike nor Tyler had tried anything on me it couldn't be so bad, that changed when we got to the diner.

Mike and Tyler had managed to squeeze me between them and Alex had to sit on the far end. I could already tell that lunch was going to be miserable. We ordered drinks and food. Mike and Tyler got cheeseburgers, I got a grilled cheese, and Alex had already eaten, or that's what he said anyways. The waitress did take her sweet time trying to show him their "specials" but he declined kindly.

It wasn't until the food had arrived that the trouble began. Both Tyler and Mike used one hand to pick up their burgers and placed their other hands on my knees. Worse, they both started to rub their fingers across them. I immediately pushed their hands off and started to eat my grilled cheese. I looked across the way to see frustration on Alex's face. I wasn't the only one who was unhappy with the arrangement.

_Disgusting slime balls, don't they have something better to do than fondle your knees?_ Edward asked with anger. _Obviously not_, I replied, _not that I'm enjoying this._

When they had moved their hands back to my knees, Alex decided it was time to go. I looked down at the 2/3 of my remaining sandwich, not wanting to leave it. I wrapped it up. Mike and Tyler complained that we had just gotten here, but Alex insisted that his parents were waiting for him. The boys grumbled in disappointment.

"BYEEE BELLA!!"

"Um bye guys" I stalked out with my sandwich, savior, and the little shred of dignity I had left.

"I feel disgusting," I said once we were in the car.

"Why?" Alex asked, already knowing.

" I had my KNEES groped! EW!" I was mad, REALLY mad.

"Well it's not your fault you're attractive," he said throwing me a mocking smile, "I suffer from this exact problem all the time."

"You're right, it's not my fault I'm attractive," I said with heavy sarcasm, "it's their fault for being GROSS. I mean you would think they would get that I'm not interested in them!" I threw up my hands in frustration only to return them immediately to the wheel.

"Why? Have they made moves on you before?" Alex asked, with annoyance evident in his voice. I had forgotten that Alex didn't know about the past year.

"Yeah they DEFINITELY have, they should know better by now," I grumbled.

"They're teenage boys, loosen up a little," Alex said sagely. I knew he was right but it did nothing to appease me. Edward growled approvingly.

After awhile I realized I had no idea where I was driving to

"Um…so…where do you want to go?" I asked him, breaking the silence.

"Well, if you don't mind, I thought we could go to my place." He said cautiously.

"Um sure, which way?" He chuckled.

"Oh you'd have to park, it's not accessible from a road." My stomach churned in anticipation.

"Do you mean we have to…_run_?" I asked fearing the answer.

"Well of course," he responded, " but I promise, it's worth it. Or at least I am." He said with a grin. I absorbed his gorgeous features, spell bound by his eyes.

"Okay," I finally said and pulled over.

Alex reached for me, and my heart started to go into overtime. I remembered this too vividly. This should be Edward, I told myself, not Alex. It felt almost wrong to me. Like running was a special thing Edward decided to show me and it would never be the same again. Never the less I climbed onto his back and wrapped myself around him. He purred, letting me know he liked this, and then took off. Then I was flying.


End file.
